In our Beginner's Guide to SEO, we mentioned that building an FAQ section can help increase your chance for being featured in Google search result as Featured Snippet.
In this article, we will take a look at how an FAQ page can help on your SEO strategies. We will also briefly talk about a few FAQ plugins available if you are using WordPress, and alternatives for non-WordPress users.
FAQ pages are great for SEO because…
1. Important keywords in relevant context
Search engines love FAQ pages because they provide relevant content to help Google understand your business. That means you will need a lot of good, relevant content on your FAQ page, and that makes your FAQ page one of the best pages to include keywords that your potential customers are searching for. By adding keywords on your FAQ page, the use of those keywords is going to be legit and will not only fit in the questions, but also in the answers, and thus allowing your FAQ page to normally rank on organic results in Google and other search engines. Not to forget, if one of your FAQs is a match for a query, it has the opportunity to rank prominently.
2. Sharable on social media
With the questions answered in your FAQ section it is possible to create content that is sharable on social media accounts. For instance, you can create posts with a question-and-answer. Although social media links do to impact directly on organic results, they are relevant to SEO, since links drive traffic to your website. Social media activity is also an important way to build your brand and trust.
3. Repurpose into blog posts
Some of the answers you will have in your FAQ page can be developed and explored as deeper content. A blog post allows you to expand upon the answer or even take a slightly different angle on the topic. You can create blog posts on related subjects and link them to your FAQ answers and vice versa. There are many benefits of inter-linking pages on your website: you will keep visitors longer on your website; you can demonstrate that you have knowledge on what you do (trust and authority); and you can drive them to other stages of the customer journey.
4. Stand out from the competition
Analyse your competitors FAQ pages. Check what you like the most, but most importantly, keep in mind what could be improved. This will help you make your FAQ section exceptional and better than what you see from your competitors. Or perhaps, kick it up a notch and incorporate images and videos on your FAQ page. All these formats will help your SEO strategies, and most of all, you can gain your visitors’ fondness. Who knows, maybe your FAQ page can even go viral!
FAQ plugins for WordPress websites
There are many FAQ plugins (both free and paid) for WordPress websites.
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Heroic FAQ
- paid plugin
- features easy-to-use drag-and-drop ordering
- no coding knowledge required
- option to include lists, images and videos
- mobile-responsive
- multiple styles and options available for customization
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HTML5 Responsive FAQ
- free plugin
- fully responsive and compatible with any responsive theme
- customization options available
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Ultimate FAQ
- free (with premium upgrade available at an additional cost)
- a variety of styling options)
- comes with a stats dashboard that gives you a summary of your FAQ views
- option to export your questions and answers to PDF (comes in handy if you want to create a user manual)
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Arconic FAQ
- free plugin
- easy to use, without a lot of bells and whistles
- allows you to add an FAQ section nearly anywhere on your website by inserting a simple shortcode
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FAQPlus
- paid plugin
- advanced FAQ plugin rich in styling options and animation effects (you can even apply different stylings to each question within a single FAQ section)
- FAQ can be added to any page or post by inserting the provided shortcode
What if you are not using WordPress?
If you are not using WordPress, you can still easily add a FAQ section to your website.
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If you are using the free website builder on your Doteasy account, you will find the FAQ builder on your site editor, under Add > Other > FAQ.
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If you prefer a single-question-and-answer page, then you can use the Q&A page schema markup. Note that the QAPage markup is only for pages that focus on a single question and its answers, not pages where there are multiple questions per page. The QAPages is designed to help Google with its best answer carousel snippets.
For more information and guidelines on the QAPage markup, you can visit Google’s Q&A Page.